Improvement in knitted caps



4 Sheets--Sheet 3.

'P. L. -Knitted Caps,

MLAYT0N.

&c.

Patented Dec. 29, 18M.-

No.158,32l.

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l Am l 4 Sheets--Sheet 4.

P. L. SLAYTON.

Knitted Caps, &c;

Dec. '29, 1874.

THE swAvHlc co, pHoro-Llws 41mm FLACEMY.

UNrrED STATES PATENT GrrrcE.

PHINEAS L. SLAYTON, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO ALMET REED,

0F SAME IJLAGE.

IMPROVEMENT IN KNITTED CAPS, &c.

Specification formirg part of Letters Patent No. 158,32 l, dated December 29, 1874; application led July 2, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PHiNEAs L. SLAvroN, of the city, county, and State ot' New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Hats and Caps; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable those skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming part of this specication, in which drawing- Figure lis a side elevation of a cap containing my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a cap of different form containing my invention. Fig. 3 is a plan view of portions of a knitting-machine, by means whereof I amenabled to produce my improved caps and hats. Fig. i is a vertical section in the line x a: of Fig. 3. Fig.5 is a side elevation of Fin'. 3, part ofthe frame being taken away to expose the needle-ring, and part of the machinery being shown in section. Fig. Grepresents the cap, Fig. l, extended in a plane beforeit is blocked and fulled, and before the edges are trimmed and bound.

Similar letters indicate corresponding parts.

This invention relates to caps and hats; and consists in a new product or manufacture of caps or hats, produced by knitting in such a manner that a cap or hat can be produced with proper enlargements to bring the cap or hat to the required form.

The knitting is accomplished by means of a knittin gmachine havin g a circular needle-rin g, each needle employed being supplied with its own thread, and the course of the knitting proceedin g through successive oscillations of parts of a circle under the control of adjustable patterns arranged .upon a screw-wheel in such a manner as to govern the extent of the successive oscillating motions of the needlering.

In order to explain my improvement in caps and hats, I will describe how I produce the same by knitting, referring to Figs. 3, 4, and 5, which represent improvements in knitting machinery for which I have asked Letters Patent of the United States. The needle-ring is caused to oscillate to and fro bymeans of a double threaded screw wheel with spiral grooves, in which are arranged segmental bars, which can be set at different places in the grooves, as required for the work to be produced. rEhe screw-wheel has combined with it a pair of nuts or levers, which are car- .ried along by its threads, the nuts or levers being mounted, at one end, on rock-shafts, respectively, with feather-keys, so that the shafts are rocked whenever the nuts or levers are lifted above the surface of the wheel, which is done whenever one of the segmental bars is found in their paths. The rocking of the shafts causes oscillations or chan ges in the direction of motion of the needle-ring automatically, so that the work produced by the changes is made up of a series of gores or pockets, combined together so as to produce-a cap or hat body,

Vwhich is afterward iinished on a block or otherw-isc. The needles are provided with a separate thread for each and the needle-ring is moved, with an intermittent motion, a distance of one needle at each movement, a series of needles being engaged simultaneously, the leadingineedle engaged in each operation being dropped, and a fresh one taken up behind at each step of the rotation, so as to bring the work to an angle with the yarns.

rlhe letter A designates the frame of a machine by which I can produce caps andhats of this construction, containing aneedle-ring, B, provided on its exterior with vertical grooves G, in which the needles a a, Src., play longitudinally up and down as they are brought in to action. rIhe needles are provided with the usual iiexible beards. The needle-ring is inclosed within a stationary guiding-trame, D, in such a manner that it can be moved or os` cillated therein back and forth, as hereinafter explained, for the purpose of changing the direction ofthe knitting,and brin gin g,successive ly, the different needles, as required, into action on either side.

The up-and-down movement of the needles takes place between the step-by-step movements of the needle-ring, and is accomplished by a horizontal grooved bar, E, secured to a vertical slide, F, working in guides b b, which slide F is operated from the driving-shaft G by means of an eccentric, el, and connectingrol c, and the arms ff mounted on a rockingshown in Figs. 4 and 5.

shaft, g, the grooved bar E receiving in its groove the projections hot" those needles which are presented to it by the needle-ring as it revolves in one direction or the other.

The needle-ring is driven from an indicator screw-wheel, H, whose axis is supported horizontally in the lower part ot' the frame A, as One end of this wheel is provided with ratchet-teeth z', which are engaged by a pawl, j, operated by the eccentric I on the main shaft G, the arrangement being such that the wheel is fed or turned only one tooth at a time. The wheel H is grooved throughout with a double right-hand screwthread, u n', dovetailed, which grooves receive segmental pattern-bars J ot' dit't'erent lengths, their lengths and positions varying according' to the work to be produced. The bars J must be so arranged and timed as to prevent any intermission in the work, and to allow only one nut or lever, L, at a time to throw its rock-shaft, as if both shafts were rocked at once the stitch would miss and the work drop. These bars J are secured in the grooves at any desired positions by set-screws, and they project above the periphery of the wheel high enough to act upon the under sides ot' .rollers Z l, secured at the ends of nuts or levers L L, which are mounted with featherkeys upon rock-shafts M M', respectively, so that the levers can travel longitiulinally, but 'annot turn on their shafts. From the under side of each lever L L there projects a swinging blade, m, which enters a narrow spiral groove, n, formed in the periphery of the p wheel H, parallel to and between the deeper grooves that receive the segmental bars J. The blades m serve to connect the nuts or levers L L to the screw-wheel H, and cause them to move along on their rock-shafts M M' from one end of the wheel to the other, their blades being wider than the height of the patternbars J above the screw-wheel, so that, notwithstanding the lifting` of the nuts or levers L by the said bars, the blades will continue inthe grooves a, and the nuts or levers continue their traverse along the wheel H. The nuts. or levers L L are keyed to their respective rock-shafts M M' by means ot' keys o, which are hinged to the sides of the levers L L, opposite horizontal slots p p, into which they enter, their ends passing into longitudinal grooves in the rock-shaft, which are eX- posed whenever the blades are shoved down in the grooves a, to cause the slots p and grooves 0:' to coincide. When either ofthe leversvhas traversed the length of the wheel, its key o is swung out ot' its groove Ot, its blade is then raised out ot its groove n, and the lever is then slid along its rock-shaft to the starting-end ofthe wheel. The nuts or levers L L are thus connected to the screwwheel, and compelled to move on their rockshat'ts according to the pitch of the grooves a n, the rollers on the said levers rolling over the periphery of the wheel; but whenever one oi" the segmental pattern-bars is found in the path of either ofthe levers, such lever is raised and its shaft rocked, and thereby one or the other of the'driving-pawls q q', which give rotary motion to the needle-ring, is rendered inoperative, as hereinafter explained. Around the needle-ring B is secured a toothed ring, N, having V-shaped teeth equal in number to the number of needle-grooves in the needlering. The needle-ring is driven one way or the other by means ot'- spring-pawls q g', attached at the ends of levers P P', which are actuated respectively by eccentrics Q Q'on the main shaft G. rlhe mechanism is so arranged that only one of the spring-pawlsviz., q or q'-is allowed to act upon the needle-ring at the saine time. This is accomplished by aprons z r', arranged to slide Vertically in the frame in such positions that when they are raised theyinterpose themselves between the V-shaped teeth on the needlering and the drivin g-pawls, the springs allowing the pawls to yield outwardly far enough to cause the pawl to move outside ot' the V- shaped teeth. The aprons r r are raised by levers R R', through the action of rockingarms S S', which latter are rigidly secured upon the rock-shafts M M'. The mechanism is so arranged and operated by means ot" the segmental pattern-bars that only one of' the pawls qor q' is allowed to act at the same time upon the needle-ring, the other pawl being kept, meanwhile, out of action by means of its apron, so long as its appropriate leverl L is kept raised by the inter-position ot` a segmental pattern-bar on the screw-wheel.

In order to hold the needle-ring stationary while the needles are being raised and lowered, and the stitches are in the process of formation, and to prevent the ring from being thrown more than the distance of one tooth when the machine is ruiming at a high speed, I employ a detent, T, which is formed soas to enter between adjacent teeth on the exterior of the needle-ring, so as to hold the ringtirmly, said detent being formed at one end ot' a bar whose other end is actuated by an eccentric, U, on the main shaft G, the motion imparted by said eccentric being just enough to cause the point ot' the detent T to pass from the point of a tooth to the bottom ot the next space. Each needle of the series actually engaged is supplied with its own thread, which is conductedthrough its appropriate hole in a yarn-guide, U', arranged in front of the needles engaged. The yarn-guide has as many holes through it as there are threads used, and each hole stands half-way between two adjacent needles at the proper height and distance for the threads to pass through to the work. I make the yarnguide either stationary or movable. In this eX- ample (shown in Fig. l) it is stationary, and is fastened to the frarne by a screw, fr. It covers the pressers Y Y', and its front edge stands as far forward toward the needle-ring as the needles will allow without interfering with them. -In order to make it equivalent to a teaser u a yarn-guide having lateral motion, I place at when the aprons rise or tall the slides are` moved' in or out, thereby causing the plates e to close on the ends of the pressers or to open.

By this construction of the pressers I am able to compensate for making the yarn-guide stationary. on the side of the direction of motion of the needle-ring, and I am able thereby to extend the presser, for the time being, on the leading side of the needle-ring, so as to brin its outer edge, inV that direction, past the place of the leading needle, and thereby enable it to make its stitch, and to insure its proper action before it casts its stitch.

It will be observed that the closing of the extension-plate e on either side is effected by the descent ofthe aprour or 1",which descent allows the engagement of one or the other of the pawls q or q with the needle-ring for the purpose ot' rotating it, the arrangement being such, for example, lthat when the apron r is down and the pawl q in action, the extensionplate n, which is toward the rightin Fig. l, and which also appears in Fig. 3, will be closed, the needle-ring being driven then in that direction.

As I have before remarked, I also make the yarn-guide movable, and in that case I provide a slot, (indicated in dotted outline in Fig. 1,)

in it, ot' the proper curvature to allow it to be moved to and fro on the set-screw and connect it to one or other of the aprons r r by means of one of the slides u, which I connect with the yarn-guide, so that the latter will move with the slide.

It is evident that the yarn-guide need be connected only to one of the aprons in order to receive motion in either direction, since, when one apron, r, for instance, is moved down the other is simultaneously moved up, and therefore both motions of the yaruguide can be got from one apron.

V'Vhen I make the yarn-guide movable I make the pressers Y Y wide enough to act on the desired extent of needles engaged, the yarnguide being moved in the direction opposite to that in which the needles are moving, so that itV extends its yarns diagonally across the needles in a good position to enable their barbs to seize the yarns. rlhe liexible beards of the needles are closed as soon as the needles have seized the yarn by means of the springpressers Y Y', which are arranged to slide in grooves in the frame A, and are operated by means ofthe cams Z Z on thc shaft G, which This extension is given to the presser vare so timed as toclose theneedles at the proper time, and long enough to allow the old stitches to pass over the ends of the needles when the pressers are withdrawn by their springs. The work is gently stroked downward by an eccentric motion from the segmental spring-wiper l, workin g inside the needle-ring. Ihe said segment l is faced with rubber, and is operated by means of the cam 2 on the main shaft. So soon as the wiper l pulls alittle on the cloth a spring-holder, 3, which is operated by means of a cam on the main shaft, cornes down on the newly-formed stitches, and remains there until the grooved bar E rises, when it is raised also out ot' the way, and gives the needle-ring a chance to shift.

Euch needle in the series engaged makes a stitch of its own with a separate thread, and in making caps ot' ordinary size I employ from twenty-tive to forty needles, but l do not restrict myself to any number of needles. The

needle-ring is caused to move or feed first in one direction, presenting a sufficient number of needles to be simultaneously raised and lowered by the bar E, according to the width ot' the work to be done, one needle being dropped on the leading side at each feed or movement, and a fresh needle taken up at the other side, and when the proper length of work has been knitted in that direction, the movementor feed ofthe needle-ring is automatically Vchanged by means ot' the screw-wheel and its segmental patterubars, as before explained, and in this manner the needle-ring is made to operate continuously from left to right and from right to left for periods which are determined by the relative lengths andarrangements of the said bars, the result bein g that the work is composed of a series of connected gores arranged in zigzag order with respect to each other, but so as to complete the cap or hat. The succession of gores enables me to produce cap or hat bodies of various styles, including Scotch caps,77 so-called, with the part known as the bell more or less protruding, as may be required by the manufacturer, the band being widened by knitting at one side, to form a front,7 if desired.

Before the machine is put in operation, the segmental pattern-bars are arranged iuproper order upon the screw-wheel, and the needlering is provided with as many needles, set adjacent to each other, as may be required.

The needles are raised by the grooved bar E, thus enabling them to seize the yarns, and the descent of the bar E is just sufticient to cause each needle engaged to draw out as much yarn as is required to make the required stitch. The bar then rises and is allowed to rest amoment, while the needle-ring advances to the right or left, and causes the leading needle in the series to drop out ot" the groove in the bar, and a fresh needle at the rear end tc enter the groove of the bar, the yarns being brought sidewise to the series ot' needles which are engaged,` as before explained. Instead ofthe drivin g-pawlj and ratchet-teeth for driving the screw-wheel, I can employ atoothed segmentmeasnringabout one-fifth of acircle, xed on the end of the main vshaft G, and arrange th at it shall, asitrevolves,engageapinion on ashaft provided with a worm-wheel which meshes with the teeth i on the screw-wheel, in such a manner that the segment will cau/se the said shaft to have one entire revolution during each engagement of the segment with the pinion, and the screw-wheel be moved one tooth.

By means of this mechanism I am enabled to produce, by knitting, a Scotch cap, so called, having a bell or enlargement all around, or partly around, and a vertical band, with or without a peak, and can also produce caps or hats of various shapes.

After the cap 0r hat has been knitted, it is blocked upon a block or former similar to such as are commonly used by hatters, heated water being used in the blocking process to assist the work, and the cap or hat becomes partially i t'ulled.77

Figure lis a representation of one of my caps after it is blocked. The cap or hat is completed for Wear by lining it, and trimming and binding the edges.

I can arrange the pattern-bars J so that the knitting shall proceed straight across in parallel rows, from edge to edge of the work, using whatever needles are required, thereby producing a semi-spherical cap or hat body, which is afterward blocked and finished.

In Fig. 2 l have represented a cap made in 4this manner-that is to say, by knitting in lines that extend from side to sideoi' the cap.

Fig. 6 shows the course of the knitting in producing a cap of such a form as that shown in Fig. 1. The part marked a is the base, which forms part of the band of the cap, from which the knitting proceeds in zigzag lines, b, along the marginal line c to the end of that line, and then upon the other side of that line in zigzag lines d, until reaching a point opposite the place of beginning, when, in order to complete the bell of the cap at that part, the margin ot' the cloth at e, for about the distance of twenty loops, varying according to the size of the cap, is picked up 7 and placed on the needles, and the knitting then proceeds back and forth in order to produce the part f, so as to form, by means of that part and the base a, a continuous band around the cap, after completing which I knit the front or peak g, continuing the knitting until cloth enough is produced to leave a base for the beginning ot' the next cap, after the front or peak g is cut out and separated therefrom.

I do not claim knitting of caps or hats by machinery, as that has been done before; but

What l claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A knittedr cap or hat produced by knitting in opposite directions in alternation, substantially as described.,

This specification signed by me this 21st day of May, 1872.

PHINEAS L. SLAYTO.

Witnesses J. VAN SAN'rvoouD, E. F. KAs'rENHUBER.. 

